International dance show to set sail

Feeling contemporary: The Belgium group Compagnie d'Ici P. will perform a solo piece titled Sillon composed by choreographer Fre Werbrouck at the festival. — Photo courtesy of Walloni-Bruxelles

According to organisers, this year's festival will take place on a grander scale and be more diverse than the previous two concerts. It will include performances from across five countries, including Belgium's French speaking Wallonie-Bruxelles region, France, the UK, Israel and Japan.

Audiences will also be treated to joint German-Vietnamese and French-Vietnamese productions.

A broad spectrum of contemporary dance will be performed amid a diverse soundtrack, including hip-hop, electro and classical music.

The pre-launch event will take place on September 25, at 8pm at l'Espace – the French Cultural Centre – and will feature a joint performance of Underground by French and Vietnamese dancers. The piece is based on the history of the Cu Chi tunnels during the American War in Viet Nam and was composed by choreographers John Bateman and Nguyen Anh Duc as a tribute to the resilience of human life.

The festival will run at the Youth Theatre between September 26-29 and will feature performances from Belgian group Compagnie d'Ici P, Japan's Mikiko Kawamura, Israel's Mushroom Z performers and a joint Vietnamese-German group.

The bi-racial group performance of Lighting was choreographed by Germany's Anna Konjetzky, who was invited by the Goethe Institute to compose the piece. The four-week rehearsal and premiere of Lighting took place in Munich and provided young dancers from the Viet Nam National National Opera and Ballet Theatre to perform overseas.

Japan will join the festival for the first time with Mikiko Kawamura to perform her self-choreographed piece, Alphard.

Israel will also be newcomers to the festival, with three dancers performing Mushroom Z, depicting the temptations, routine and pitfalls of urban society.

British CandoCo Dance Company will perform In Translation accompanied by Johann Sebastian Bach on the piano. The CandoCo Company is internationally renowned for using disabled and non-disabled dancers.

French production petiteshistoires.com will close the festival on September 29, combining elements of hip-hop with humour and acrobatics.

The dance festival was first held three years ago and has become a major event in Ha Noi's cultural calendar. It has contributed to a growing awareness of contemporary dance in the capital since 2011.

Free tickets to the festival can be collected from 2pm, September 19, in four locations: Goethe Institute, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street; l'Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street; Japan Foundation, 27 Quang Trung Street; and British Council, 20 Thuy Khue Street.